Exploring and Encouraging a Healthy Life Marked with Joy

Posts tagged ‘Kale’

Another beautiful Spring Friday here in Savannah! And there’s just so very much to be thankful for. Here’s what’s bringing me happiness:

1. On Tuesday, my ESL 680 (Research, Reading and Writing) grad students and I hosting a little informal Open House to showcase their Visual Component projects. We have been working on research papers based on some specific aspect of their master’s program, and a part of their work included “creating” someTHING to illustrate their research. Examples of their research topics include: “Gothic Elements in Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride,” “Contemporary Sustainable Building Design,” “Interface Design in Modern Media Production,” and “The Influence of 1980’s Chinese Daily Wear on Western Fashion.” So much fun! I keep learning SO MUCH from these incredible SCAD (Savannah College of Art and Design) international students.

Some pics from our Open House:

(I have this ability to sneak into pictures.)

And here are their Visual Component projects. (Please note that some are videos, thus the iPads and laptops.)

What a creative, intelligent group of students!

2. And along the same line, last night was our final class for SCAD’s spring quarter. So, of course we had to take a few more photos, including a Class Pic!

And eat a little more:

3. The Promise of Summer.

4. This great (I think) Quote from the folks at Abraham-Hicks publications.

“Do I have a responsibility to make the whole world beat to my drum? No, nor could you. You beat your own drum, and the universe will respond to the drum that you are beating. There as many different worlds being lived by as many different perceivers of the world as there are perceivers of the world.”

This past Friday I was a bit under the weather (don’t ask and I won’t tell), so I didn’t post my regular Five Friday Happy Bringers. But it’s a Brand New Day and Week, so I thought I’d try to make up for lost time by telling you why Happiness is Here.

Here are five things I’m happy about this warm July Friday in South Georgia.

1. My newfound love of KALE–here sautéed with onions and garlic.

How else can you eat it? Anybody know?

2. Six-year-old Grandson Daniel pretending to be part of an Office Depot sales associates meeting yesterday. (He got bored when his mother and I were doing some shopping.) (And he has his grandfather’s sense of humor.) (I thought it was a lot funnier than the Office Depot folks did.)

Right after I took that picture, Daniel asked me if we could go look at speaker eggs. Huh? What? I’d never heard of such a thing.

How does a kid know about such devices?! When I asked him, he said that EVERYBODY knows about speaker eggs. I couldn’t decide if I was proud of him or wanted to spank him. A little while later, when he asked, “Abu, how old will you be when I’m twenty?” I knew I wanted to spank him.

3. Eating dinner in a balcony.

(At Sage. Historic District Savannah.)

4. Lying down in your bed at night, putting your head on your pillow, and going to sleep.

… without a thermometer. Okay, so maybe he doesn’t seem to be enjoying his food 100%, but still, he’s sitting in the sun, getting a vitamin D boost.

4. As some of you know, my grandkids call me “Abu” (Cuban/Hispanic shortened version of grandfather) because I thought “grandfather,” etc sounded entirely too paternally old. Well, six-year-old Daniel and three-year-old Gabriel are WILD over Skylanders. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, DO NOT try to figure it out. It’s far too complicated. But the Skylander franchise is basically taking over the world, of kids. Anyway, I recently told D and G that a brand new, exciting Skylander figure had just come available on the market, AbuForce!

The three-year old bought it for minute until the six-year-old exclaimed, “No way, Abu. You’re joking again.”

“I am not,” I lied. (Why does that trait come so easily to me?)

“Prove it, then,” smart-mouth Daniel challenged.

“Okay I will,” I responded, having no clue how to do so, or even what I meant.

“When?” he asked, a little smart-mouthier.

“Tomorrow,” I easily answered.

Sometimes, angels come your way. I told my friend Robert about my dilemma. He laughed and said he might be able to help. It seems the U.S miltary has a program called Huggs-to-Go, providing dolls for children of service men and women deployed. The figures have a place at the face for pictures of dad or mom, etc. Since Robert is retired Army and currently works at Hunter Army Airfield, he somehow managed to get me two of the dolls.

I presented the AbuForce figures to Daniel and Gabriel the next day. Both, in shock that there really was an AbuForce, melted my heart with their excitement over my little joke.

And the following day, they brought unparalleled joy to my heart when they both told me that they slept with AbuForce.